Book Review: The Secret Lives of the Four Wives by Lola Shoneyin

Recently, I had the pleasure of reading the Secret Lives of the Four Wives  by Lola Shoneyin. This novel is about a modern polygamist family in Nigeria.  The story begins at the union between Baba Segi and his fourth wife, Bolanle. Her arrival into the somewhat tension filled utopia brings anger and ill intentions into the household.    The wives are intimidated by her education, youth, and beauty. Throughout the book, you learn more about each wife and how they found comfort in a polygamist union during a time where polygamy in Nigeria was  becoming obsolete. As tempers and frustrations  start to spin out of control the secrets of the women are released page by page in this tailwind drama.

Lola Shoneyin, does a excellent job weaving together the literary structure of the book that holds true to her first love, poetry. Her poetic storytelling of this realistic portrayal of women and a family is clear, concise, and cross-cultural. This novel  will make you feel  sympathy and yet triumph for each woman, find humor in the irony, and feel the underlying heartache.  As you near the end of the book you  are waiting for the proverbial stuff to hit the fan with  the turn of every page.  You begin to feel as though you are watching the Real Housewives of a Polygamist Family In Nigeria, but not as commercialized but just as much drama.

Overall, the book  is not as deep as  I thought it would be, but strong enough to understand the universal impact of life, gender, and hardships of being a woman. I would HIGHLY suggest that everyone reads this book.

Tracking Your Health

 Lately, I have been using this wonderful website Fitday.com to track my caloric intake and output.
 At first I was not sure that I would be down for journaling any part of my life, due to the uncontrollable amount of tracking and calculation that I did with Weight Watchers, which made eating a lot more complicated then it should be. Even though, I was not really interested in WW points concept, I did enjoy being able to keep record of what I was consuming. I understand now, more then ever that when trying to get in shape and eat healthy it is important to journal and keep track of food intake activities.



Fitday.com Screenshot



Pros's The website is very user friendly and simple...........and plus it is FREE. (I love free)
You can track your weight, BMI, Calorie intake and output, and mood.

You are able to share and reflect on your wellness daily on dissussion boards, in your online journal and set goals. journal, disscusion boards, and goals, Which are all helpful in the wellness process.

Also,  there is an Iphone app, yo make this tracker a lot more accesible.
Con's
It may be too simple for those who want a more attractive  and interactive layout.

There are a lot of ads, that may be distracting, which you can  pay for a  the Fitday Premium package, that has no advertisement, it is is a problem.


Overall, I really enjoy this website and  would recommend it to any one who is looking for a cost effective way to  track your wellness initiatives.